The establishment of a working group to explore solar access issues for the centre of Parramatta and their impact on future development demonstrates positive support by all levels of government for private investment and is good news for Parramatta, says the Urban Taskforce.
“A recent ruling by the Greater Sydney Commission that flagged a change to a council rule for solar access has had a major impact on a significant number of private sector development proposals,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson.
“At a meeting called this week by the Department of Planning and the Greater Sydney Commission attended by senior staff from the Council of the City of Parramatta together with representatives of the property industry and the owners of three of the affected sites, it was agreed to establish a Working Group to actively explore options that may more effectively support development whilst respecting the amenity of the public domain.”
“The Urban Taskforce attended the constructive meeting and made it clear that we support the vision of both the State Government and Parramatta Council for the growth of Parramatta and its role as a dual CBD with the City of Sydney. We did however point out a number of areas where planning rules in Parramatta appeared to be more restrictive than those in the Sydney CBD.”
“The Urban Taskforce is also concerned that the planning rules seem to have changed since a number of the planning proposals were lodged in conformance with the previous rules.”
“The Urban Taskforce looks forward to actively participating in the Working Group as it seeks to expeditiously achieve a workable and equitable outcome acceptable to all key stakeholders.”